A known bariatric surgical procedure involves placing a gastric band around a portion of the stomach, using laparoscopic techniques. This surgery is used for treatment of morbid obesity, and accomplishes a gastric bypass, in which the upper stomach outlet is restricted, to slow the food passage into the lower stomach. One location for placement of the gastric band is at the esophageal jejunum.
One successful gastric band is made by Innomed, Inc. under the trade name LAP-BAND®. The LAP-BAND® gastric band is made of silicon and is inflatable to control the degree of restriction about the upper stomach outlet. Typically, the gastric band is introduced intraperitoneally and is maneuvered about the stomach using an articulating dissector. Other surgical instruments that have been used to introduce the gastric band to the implantation site include solid rods with a hook either on the side of the rod, such as sold by Richard Wolf Medical Instruments Corporation, or with a notch on the tip of the rod to pull the band by an opening provided at the front of the band.
During the above bariatric procedure, different instruments and laparoscopic cameras can be inserted and removed through cylindrical ports that are placed through the abdominal wall. Since the abdomen is insufflated, insertion of certain instruments causes the loss of insufflation. Other instruments, such as the traditional gastric band introducers, are inserted once the port is removed, directly through the incision in the abdominal wall. Since the tissue around the incision naturally closes, the insertion of the introducer with the loaded gastric band becomes very difficult, needing to be forced through the tightly closed incision. Additionally, the rear portion of the band that extends outside of the patient must be controlled by the surgeon during insertion so that the band does not slide off the hook of the introducer.
Thus, an improved gastric band introducer is needed, which can facilitate insertion through the abdominal wall and the control of the gastric band while it is maneuvered into position.